Nature vs. Nurture Debate

Nature vs. Nurture

• A debate about the influence of genetics (nature) versus environment (nurture) on behavior.

Nature

• Inherited characteristics influencing personality, growth, intellect, and social interactions.

Nurture

• The environment.

Evolutionary Perspective

• How natural selection promotes gene survival through traits.

Eugenics

• The study of improving human hereditary qualities.

Twin Studies

• Studies comparing identical twins raised apart, revealing similarities and potential genetic influences.
• Critics highlight potential similarities between strangers, and point out differences are greater in fraternal twins.

Adoption Studies

• Examining resemblance between adopted children and biological/adoptive parents to assess hereditary influence.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

• The brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System

• Sensory and motor neurons connecting the CNS to the body.

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

• Controls glands and internal organs, with sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic (calming) divisions.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

• Calms the body, conserving energy.

Sympathetic Nervous System

• Arouses the body, mobilizing energy in stress.

Sensory Neurons

• Carry sensory information to the brain and spinal cord.

Motor Neurons

• Carry signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands.

Interneurons

• Communicate within the brain and spinal cord, connecting sensory and motor neurons.

Reflex Arc

• A simple, rapid response to a stimulus, bypassing conscious brain involvement.

Glial Cells

• Support, nourish, and protect neurons.

All-or-None Principle

• A neuron either fires completely or not at all; the intensity remains consistent.

Threshold

• The minimum stimulation needed to initiate a neural impulse.

Depolarization

• Sodium rushing into a neuron, creating a positive charge inside.

Action Potential

• A neural impulse, a brief electrical charge traveling down an axon.

Resting Potential

• The difference in electrical charge across a neuron's membrane when not firing.

Refractory Period

• A period of inactivity after a neuron fires.

Multiple Sclerosis

• Myelin sheath destruction, disrupting nerve impulse conduction.

Myasthenia Gravis

• Chronic autoimmune disease affecting neuromuscular junctions, causing muscle weakness.

Dopamine

• Neurotransmitter involved in movement, attention, learning, pleasure, and reward.

Serotonin

• Neurotransmitter impacting hunger, sleep, arousal, and mood.

Glutamate

• Major excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory.

Norepinephrine

• Neurotransmitter involved in arousal, learning, and mood regulation.

Endorphins

• Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.

Substance P

• Neurotransmitter involved in pain transmission to the brain.

Acetylcholine

• Neurotransmitter enabling learning, memory, and muscle contraction.

Agonist

• A molecule stimulating a response by binding to a receptor site.

Antagonist

• A molecule blocking a neurotransmitter's function.

Stimulants

• Drugs increasing neural activity and speeding up bodily functions (e.g., caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, Ecstasy).

Depressants

• Drugs reducing neural activity and slowing bodily functions (e.g., alcohol, barbiturates, opiates).

Hallucinogens

• Psychedelic drugs distorting perceptions and evoking sensory experiences in the absence of input (e.g., LSD).

Opioids

• Drugs with morphine-like actions.

Tolerance

• Diminishing effect of a drug with repeated use, requiring higher doses for the same effect.

Addiction

• Compulsive drug craving and use despite negative consequences.

Withdrawal

• Discomfort and distress following discontinuing addictive drug use.

Brainstem

• The oldest part of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions.

Reticular Activating System

• Part of the brain involved in attention, sleep, and arousal.

Cerebellum

• Brain structure controlling fine motor skills.

Limbic System

• Neural system associated with emotions and drives.

Split Brain Research

• Studying patients with severed corpus callosums, showing brain hemisphere specialization.

Corpus Callosum

• Band of neural fibers connecting the brain hemispheres.

Hemispheric Dominance

• One hemisphere becoming stronger and more adept than the other.

Broca's Area

• Frontal lobe area controlling speech production.

Wernicke's Area

• Temporal lobe area comprehending language.

Aphasia

• Language impairment due to left hemisphere damage (Broca's or Wernicke's area).

Visual Pathway

• Retina to optic nerve, chiasm, tracts, thalamus (LGN), visual radiations, visual cortex.

Frontal Lobes

• Behind forehead, involved in speaking, muscle movements, planning, and judgments (language, motor cortex, prefrontal cortex).

Temporal Lobe

• Processing auditory information and language comprehension.

Occipital Lobe

• Processing visual information.

Visual Cortex

• Visual processing areas in occipital and temporal lobes.

Neuroplasticity

• Brain's ability to change structure and function in response to experience or trauma.

EEG

• Amplified recording of brain waves via electrodes on the scalp.

fMRI

• Technique showing blood flow/brain activity by comparing MRI scans.

PET

• Visual display of brain activity detecting glucose usage.

Lesioning

• Destroying parts of the brain.

Circadian Rhythm

• Biological rhythms occurring on a 24-hour cycle.

EEG Patterns

• Alpha, beta, theta, and delta waves reflecting various brain states (e.g., relaxed wakefulness, sleep).

Stage 1 Sleep

• Light sleep; alpha waves.

Stage 2 Sleep

• Deeper sleep with sleep spindles.

Stage 3 Sleep

• Deep sleep; high-amplitude delta waves.

Hypnogogic Sensations

• Experiences between wakefulness and sleep (e.g., fear, presence, falling).

REM Sleep

• Sleep stage with vivid dreams, increasing as the night progresses.

Paradoxical Sleep

• REM sleep.

REM Deprivation

• Sleep deprivation, leading to increased attempts to enter REM sleep.

REM Rebound

• Increased REM sleep following REM sleep deprivation.

Activation-Synthesis Theory

• Dreams reflect random brain activity interpreted by the forebrain.

Consolidation Theory

• Memory circuits strengthen during sleep.

Sleep Restoration Theory

• Sleep for metabolic energy conservation and lifespan extension.

Memory Consolidation Theory

• Mental replay and practice of previous events and future events for memory strengthening during sleep.

Insomnia

• Recurring problems falling asleep or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

• Sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks, often involving REM sleep.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

• Neurological disorder preventing paralysis during REM, causing dream enactment.

Sleep Apnea

• Sleep disorder with temporary cessation of breathing.

Somnambulism

• Sleepwalking.

Transduction

• Converting one form of energy into another (e.g., light to neural signals).

Absolute Threshold

• Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

• Minimum difference between two stimuli to be perceived as different.

Weber's Law

• Difference thresholds increase proportionally to the size of the stimulus.

Synesthesia

• Describing one sensation in terms of another (e.g., "a loud color").

Lens

• Transparent structure focusing light onto the retina.

Retina

• Light-sensitive inner surface of the eye containing rods and cones.

Rods

• Retinal receptors detecting black, white, and gray.

Cones

• Retinal receptors detecting fine detail and color.

Blind Spot

• Point where optic nerve exits the eye, lacking receptor cells.

Fovea

• Central focal point in the retina, with high concentration of cones.

Ganglion

• Peripheral nervous system nerve cell bodies.

Accommodation (Lens)

• Adjusting lens shape to focus on objects at different distances.

Nearsightedness

• Distant objects focus in front of the retina.

Farsightedness

• Near objects focus behind the retina.

Dark Adaptation

• Eyes increasing sensitivity to light in low illumination.

Trichromatic Theory

• Three types of cones (red, green, blue) for color perception.

Opponent-Process Theory

• Opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.

Dichromatism

• Color blindness due to missing one cone type.

Explore the ongoing debate between nature and nurture in shaping human behavior. This quiz covers topics such as genetics, environmental influence, and the significance of studies involving twins and adoption. Assess your understanding of how these factors contribute to personality and social interactions.